FISH SILAGE FROM VISCERAL WASTE OF FRESHWATER CARPS

1. Title / name of the technology: Fish silage from visceral waste of freshwater carps
2. Background: Large quantities of fish parts are being wasted in tropical countries like India. These wastes
dumped in and around human habitations are inviting serious environmental and health threats. The fish wastes
are a great source of proteins, fats and minerals which could be put to different uses. Fish meal is one such
byproduct from fish waste. Fish meal production is a capital intensive enterprise where most resource poor
coastal fisherwomen cannot venture into. Fish silage is another option which is economically viable and low risk
technology which can be adopted by coastal fisherwomen
3. Technology description: Fish silage is a liquid product made from dressing waste of fish or whole fish to which
acids, enzymes or lactic-acid-producing bacteria are added, with the liquefaction of the mass provoked by the
action of enzymes from the fish. There are 2 types of fish silage: 1) Acid treated fish silage 2) Fermented fish
silage.

Preparation procedure of acid treated fish Preparation procedure of fermented fish silage
silage from fish waste from visceral waste

Wash and mince the visceral waste of fish

Mince the gut and gills of fish after washing.

Add 1.5% each of formic acid and hydrochloric acid to the mince To each kg of minced waste, add 300 ml water
and 200gm jaggery
Add 200ppm Butyl Hydroxy Toluene (BHT) to prevent autooxidation and
0.1% potassium sorbate to prevent mould growth
Add 200mg of Butyl hydroxyl toluene (BHT) (to prevent rancidity
development) and 1gm of Potassium sorbate (to prevent fungus and
Mix well and store in airtight plastic containers at 28‐300C mould attack )

Stir twice daily till pH stabilizes around 3.5‐4 Mix well and keep in air tight plastic containers at 28‐30 degree celcius.

Stir twice daily for 4‐5 days or till the product attains semiliquid form.

4. How it is women friendly?:

 The production of fish silage involves less capital investment and low skill requirement.
 The cost of production of silage is Rs 6/kg and Rs 10/kg for acid treated and fermented fish silage respectively.
 Hence the technology of fish silage production is women friendly.

5. Performance:
 The cost of production of silage is Rs 6/kg and Rs 10/kg for acid treated and fermented fish silage respectively.
 There was an increase of 8% in egg production in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) when fed with
acid added fish silage at 3% of the diet.
 The cost of feed/kg gain in weight decreased by Rs 5/- when 10% of diet of broiler chicken was replaced with
fish silage.
 Significant gain in weight, lowered feed conversion ratio and feed cost/kg gain in weight were observed in
Vanraja birds fed with fish silage.
 The inclusion of fish silage at 5% level resulted in a 14.31% reduction in feed cost/kg weight gain in rohu
fingerlings.
6. Locale of dissemination/application:
 The technology can be adopted by coastal fisherwomen where the availability of raw material (fish waste) is in
plenty.
7. Outcome/impacts/benefits:
 Fish silage production from fish waste can not only be an income generating activity for coastal women but will
also help in alleviating environmental pollution caused by the piling up of fish processing wastes around human
habitations.
 Fish silage could be put to use as a feed ingredient in poultry, livestock and fish feed and also could be used as
organic manure in crops.
8. Limitations if any:
 Since silage is a liquid product which is bulky, it occupies more space.
 The access to raw material should be easy so that the waste can be collected before it gets spoiled.
 Since the bulk availability of marine fish is seasonal, the production of silage is also most likely to be a seasonal
activity unless otherwise taken up by beneficiaries located near to inland fish markets.
9. Photos:

10. Source (author/ organization) :Tanuja, S. & Anil Kumar, ICAR-CIWA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
11. Developed/ tested/ refined : Developed and tested
12. Year & purpose: 2013-16 under the Institute project ‘Aqua and poultry feed from fish and shellfish wastes for
employment generation of coastal women’
13. Cost (initial investment and operating cost in Rs./h and Rs/Unit output): The fixed assets required in the
production of fish silage are meat mincer and plastic containers. The total cost of these fixed assets is around
Rs 15000/-. Solar dryer for drying silage mixed with other ingredients could also be used. The production cost
for acid treated silage is Rs 6/kg and that of fermented silage is Rs 10/kg.
14. Patent/ commercialization details: Nil
15. Whether further study/ modification are required or not: Further study to explore the possibilities of using
fish silage as organic manure needs to be explored. Production of organic manure from fish silage is a much
more feasible income generating activity for women.